Marion continues to recruit at a breakneck pace. According to 247 Sports, he has secured 16 hard commits already for 2026 and has given out a mind-boggling 384 offers! No wonder they have such a large coaching and support staff for football. Can you imagine the time and effort it must take to make contact with this many potential recruits?

2026 Commits:

https://247sports.com/college/sacramento-state/season/2026-football/commits/

2026 Offers by Position:

QB - 8
RB - 17
WR - 68
TE - 11
OT - 27
OL - 27
Edge - 31
DL - 41
LB - 27
CB - 44
S -22
Athlete - 61

https://247sports.com/college/sacramento-state/season/2026-football/offers/

Jaden Rashada breaks silence on lengthy transfer process, Sacramento State pick: 'I had more pure intentions'
Brennan Marion's Hornets have cleared the runway for Rashada to be QB1 in Sacramento

Jaden Rashada's college recruitment has been under a microscope since he announced his commitment to Miami almost three years ago. The decorated quarterback from the 2023 recruiting class has become one of the most recognizable faces and cautionary tales of the NIL era due to a series of high-profile events, which includes a fallout with Florida that resulted in a lawsuit against, among others, coach Billy Napier.

"We are definitely in on (Jaden) being our guy," Marion told CBS Sports. "For us in every room, we want guys who can be draft picks, starters and stars. In every room, if you look at what we are doing in the transfer portal and what we have done with high school recruiting, every single room had that. Except for the quarterback room, we did not upgrade to the level I liked."

Whole article here: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/jaden-rashada-breaks-silence-on-lengthy-transfer-process-sacramento-state-pick-i-had-more-pure-intentions/

Georgia QB Jaden Rashada sues Florida coach Billy Napier, among others, over botched $13.85M NIL deal

Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada has filed a lawsuit against Florida coach Billy Napier, top Gators booster Hugh Hathcock and former football staffer Marcus Castro-Walker over a failed name, image and likeness deal that would have paid the quarterback $13.85 million, according to a suit filed in federal court on Tuesday.

The bombshell lawsuit, which features the unprecedented action of an active SEC quarterback suing a sitting rival head coach, is the most notable NIL-related lawsuit to date. In many ways, Rashada became the face of the chaotic nature of early NIL that was full of big promises with little oversight on the heels of his Florida deal falling apart.

Whole article here: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/georgia-qb-jaden-rashada-sues-florida-coach-billy-napier-among-others-over-botched-13-85m-nil-deal/

Sac's football roster includes a GM and and Assistant GM. I've never seen so many coaches and support staff on a roster. They list 30 under the heading of Coaching Staff and 9 more under Football Support Staff.

Basketball is showing 6 Coaches and 6 Support Staff.

https://hornetsports.com/sports/football/roster

https://hornetsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

It will be interesting to see if Mani will reach his potential at Fresno State. He was injured a lot here and, when he did finally get some playing time, he seemed to have a tough time with the physicality of defending in the paint. He certainly has a beautiful 3 point shot so maybe Fresno will use him as a tough matchup on the perimeter.

Quite a pitching duel! I looked at the box score and the game started at 6:06 pm and finished at 10:52 pm...4 hours and 46 minutes long with a good crowd of 1885 in attendance. I wonder how many stayed until the end?

The Aggies are now 22-23 overall and 9-13 in the BW with 10 games to go. I'm sure they'd like to finish above .500 for the season. Go Ags!

Article from today's Sac Bee by Joe Davidson:

Sac State football signs 50 via transfer portal, most in nation. Who’s coming?

Brennan Marion vowed to upgrade the football roster at Sacramento State when he became head coach in December.

He wasn’t kidding, and he isn’t finished.

In the whirlwind nature that has become college athletics, Marion has gone to the transfer portal to rework the existing Hornets roster. Because scholarships are only a year-to-year binding deal, change is allowed and does happen at this level.

On top of securing the top recruiting class in the FCS during the signing period, Marion has brought in a national-leading 50 players through the portal. Some players were starters from higher-level FBS programs and were four-star recruits in high school. Some played for some of the top college programs in the country, or were at least on the roster.

At FCS-level Sacramento State, Marion is offering players in the portal an opportunity to compete for a starting job, to be part of the rolling momentum of a program that seeks entry into the FBS and could well be a preseason Top 10 team in the FCS this fall.

Mostly, Marion is offering players a chance to experience his motto of “One great year can change your life,” something he embraced growing up in Pennsylvania before coaching took him across the country.

“That’s what we say, and now I have players who come up to me now and say that line,” Marion said. “We can turn your career around here, even if we just have you for one year, because one year can change your life. We did the same thing when I was (the offensive coordinator) at UNLV the last couple of years. We brought in 30-plus guys and reached the conference championship game both times."

‘We’ve flipped our roster’

Before the portal became a crucial part of college football in 2018, programs largely built their rosters or retooled through high school recruiting. Now the portal affords programs a chance for a quick fix with significant upgrades for players who have already been vetted, so to speak, in the college game.

It can come across as cut-throat, welcoming in scores of new players to take the roster spots of those already in place. But such is the nature of the game now. New coaches bring in their people, be it coaches or players.

“Some may wonder, ‘What are you doing, flipping the roster like that?’” Marion said. “From our perspective, we want to bring in the best players we can. We’re getting mainly FBS transfers, guys who played some at their previous schools but want a fresh start. We’ve upgraded our roster. We’ve flipped our roster.”

Sacramento State has floated the idea that NIL — name, image and likeness — funding can swell up to $50 million in coming years, especially if the football program’s recent waiver to the NCAA to move up in classification as an independent is approved.

What Marion can assure is a chance to be part of a football movement in the only top 20 media market in the country that does not have an FBS program. Sacramento State won Big Sky Conference championships in 2019, 2021 and 2022 and reached the FCS playoffs in 2023 before sliding to last place in the Big Sky last fall amid injuries and late-game losses.

College football teams are allowed to carry 105 players. Marion can’t keep all of the hold-over players and still bring in new players because the roster would be too large, certainly.

So Marion has encouraged existing players to jump into the transfer portal, and he has endorsed them with glowing comments on social media.

Marion has helped outgoing players land

“Anyone who has been under my tutelage, whether it’s been years or weeks or months, I want them to succeed in life and in their careers, in any field they want, and I’ll help them transfer,” Marion said. “We want them to get offers. That’s our job. When you keep it pure, it’s really just helping the kids. If a player here went through a plan and a process and did it every day, I’ll help them for the rest of their life. The guys who have remained here want to show that they belong.”

Entering the weekend, Marion said he has 65 players in place. In the summer, he will have as many as 50 more additions, meaning more coming and going.

“I still have a few more surprises coming,” Marion said.

Recruiting still comes down to people skills, Marion said. A player can be wowed by the potential of a program, the future, but there has to be a connection between coaches and players for it to work.

“I’ve always been a player’s coach,” Marion said. “That used to get frowned upon - a player’s coach. But a player’s coach, those are the guys who are winning and adapting to the changing college climate.” The Hornets want players who fit in Marion’s wide-open “Go-Go” offense and they want stoppers on defense because college teams score in bunches.

Who are some of the new Hornets?

In recent weeks, Sacramento State has signed out of the portal the following:

▪ Jaden Rashada, a 5-star quarterback recruit out of Pittsburg High in the Bay Area. He attended Arizona State and Georgia.

▪ Oscar Moore, a safety who played in 23 games over two seasons at UTEP and was a 3-star recruit in high school in Texas.

▪ Savion Red, a running back who rushed for 687 yards and eight touchdowns for Nevada in 2024 who originally signed with the Texas Longhorns as a star prep player from the state.

▪ Sam Adams II, a running back who played in 31 games with the Washington Huskies and was the No. 3 prospect in the state coming out of high school, according to 24/7, a national recruiting site.

▪ Malik Tullis, a defensive lineman who played two seasons at Eastern Michigan and was a 3-star recruit in Georgia.

▪ Gavin Thomson, a receiver who attended Pittsburg and UNLV, where he played for Marion in 2024.

▪ Melvin Swindle II, a defensive lineman who played in 35 games at Eastern Michigan over three seasons and was a 3-star recruit from Michigan.

▪ Dylan Hampsten, a defensive lineman who played in 13 games for San Jose State in 2024.

▪ Warren Smith Jr., a 3-star cornerback recruit from the Bay Area who played at Washington State in 2024.

▪ Diesel Gordon, a defensive back who was a 3-star recruit in Texas, played at Washington in 2023 and at Butler Community College in Kansas last season.

▪ Deven Wright, an edge rusher who played at Boise State and Texas State.

▪ Jordan Herman, a 6-foot-8, 335-pound offensive lineman who played for Florida in 2022 and 2023 and for Charlotte in 2024.

Overloaded on talent? Can a roster have too much talent? Is there such a thing? Can everyone fighting for the same spots cause friction?

“It’s funny to me, at previous stops for me, the thing was filling up rooms with the best players to create the best competition,” Marion said. “Some say recruiting rankings don’t matter. It actually does matter how much talent you have. You want to have the best people you can get in the building, in the room.

“With (the Texas Longhorns), when I was coaching there, everything was about recruiting rankings, having the top recruiting class, getting the top guys, everyone in the room a starter or stars. At UNLV, we had a lot of talent, because that’s the goal. Everyone wants to nr a starter, so you want that competition.”

Marion added, “It’s my greatest challenge as a coach here. I love it. It’s fun. It’s what can make us unique and special. We have a chance to be really good in the summer, and it’ll be exciting to see what we can do.”

https://www.sacbee.com/sports/college/article305501421.html

Eric Olen has brought in 8 recruits since taking over the New Mexico including several who are highly rated. The MWC is going to be very challenging for the Ags in 2026.

Lobos Land Four Impact Transfers for 2025-26, Including JUCO All-American, USC Duo, and 7-Foot Big Man

The New Mexico men’s basketball team is reloading with serious firepower for the 2025-26 season.

One thing is clear about New Mexico’s new athletic director, Fern Lovo: He knows the kind of coaches he wants to hire and wastes no time hiring them.

Coaches like new Lobo basketball hire Eric Olen from UC San Diego and football coach Jason Eck from Idaho—leaders who come from smaller programs with a mindset focused on great opportunity, not limitations the might have had at past schools.

They’ve proven themselves at the mid-major level and arrive in Albuquerque with a hunger to compete, confident in their ability to succeed in the Mountain West.

Head coach Eric Olen announced the addition of four transfers who bring a mix of size, scoring, pedigree, and potential: junior college All-American Antonio Chol, brothers Kevin and Kallai Patton from USC, and JT Rock, a 7-foot-1 former Top 100 recruit from Iowa State.

Olen, entering his first full recruiting cycle at the helm of the Lobos, is already leaving a distinct mark on the roster by targeting players who bring not just talent, but versatility and long-term upside.

Whole article here: https://www.mwcconnection.com/2025/4/23/24414782/lobos-land-four-impact-transfers-including-juco-all-american-usc-duo7-foot-gaurd-gaurd-uriah-tenette

It seems like some Hornet fans are getting a little nervous about how many players Marion is bringing in that have had serious problems elsewhere. The following is a sequence of posts from a topic over on the Hornet football forum:

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After our latest announced recruits, I feel we have to have this discussion. We have several new players who have had felonies in the last few years and we are coming off a down season.

We just lost our best LB and our starting QB to the portal. It's not looking good.

-

I don't think people really care about felonies these days... we just elected a convicted felon to lead our country.

-

I believe the new players overall will be on good behavior if they’re taking football seriously at all. It’s not like you go to Sac St and don’t play well or get arrested then think you’ll have P4 schools or nfl owners interested.

-

The whole "do things the right way" mantra went out the window when fans were calling for coaching heads during last season, regardless of the circumstances (starting senior QB quit, litany of injuries at various positions, redshirt freshman QB at the helm, etc). It should be evident more than ever after that campaign that fans only care about winning.

Couple that "win now above all else" fan sentiment with the current atmosphere in college athletics with the portal and revolving one year agreements with players and we are where we are. We've made our bed, now we get to lay in it.

I'll add that Coach Marion and Co have assembled a very talented roster. We should stack a good amount of wins next season regardless of who left in the portal. Enough wins to prevent Hornet fans from calling for Coach Marion's head? Well I guess that will remain to be seen.

https://bigskyfans.com/threads/which-will-we-see-more-of-from-hornet-football-in-2025.30068/

Gauchofreg took a look at the current rosters in the BW and he shows us as being guard heavy in a big way at the moment. We definitely need some front court players.

Davis: Unbalanced. Two open rides. Biggest need: frontcourt
PG: 1
Guard: 9
Wing: 1
Forward: 1
Center: 0

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/bigwest/current-status-of-bw-rosters-t29680.html

Full Riverside press release about Argenal:

https://gohighlanders.com/news/2025/5/1/mens-basketball-gus-argenal-named-uc-riverside-head-mens-basketball-coach.aspx

I'd like to see us get in a Top 25 Mid-Major Transfer list like this one. UCSB is #3, Hawaii is #13 while UNLV is #1 and 4 other current MWC teams are on this list.

I would assume that they can until they are actually in the FBS but I'm not positive about that...??

Great post! :up:

Well, given some of the current lawsuits against the NCAA for limiting the number years athletes can play, we'll probably be seeing players with who knows how many years of eligibility...seems like professional, college athletics will be here shortly...

Williams pleaded guilty to one of the 9 felony gun charges against him and then had that single felony reduced to a misdemeanor by a judge in a plea deal. So, technically on the record, he is not a convicted felon even though he pleaded guilty to a felony charge before the judge changed his guilty plea to a misdemeanor.

Williams pleaded guilty to one felony gun charge on Nov. 30 and one of his attorneys said the 19-year-old is not expected to face jail time.

Williams had faced nine felony counts and up to 30 years in prison after a shooting incident at his home on March 17 in which no one was injured. In a deal with prosecutors, Williams pleaded guilty to one felony count of making a criminal threat and to a special allegation of using a firearm during the threat.

In exchange, the other eight counts were dismissed and Williams was ordered to complete a gun safety course, attend anger management sessions and complete 80 hours of community service. Sentencing has been set for Aug. 12 in San Diego County Superior Court, when the charge would be reduced to a misdemeanor if Williams follows terms of the deal and avoids any criminal offenses, attorney Randy Grossman said.

https://fox5sandiego.com/sports/memphis-recruit-mikey-williams-enters-transfer-portal-5-weeks-after-plea-deal-in-gun-case/#:~:text=Prep%20basketball%20star%20Mikey%20Williams,offenses%2C%20attorney%20Randy%20Grossman%20said.&text=Williams%20was%20one%20of%20the,longer%20appears%20in%20the%20rankings.

$200K is very big amount of NIL for a player who averaged 5.1 ppg. I wonder where that kind of NIL money is coming from? Williams rated 5 stars out of high school and was headed to Memphis before he got arrested on 9 felony gun charges.

On the heels of Sacramento State hiring Shaquille O'Neal as general manager and Mike Bibby as head coach, ex-prep phenom Mikey Williams told ESPN on Tuesday that he has committed to play for the Hornets.

Williams transferred out of UCF to play under the tutelage of Bibby and Shaq at a basketball program adding big names. The freshman guard averaged 5.1 points in 14 minutes per game over 18 games for the Knights last season.

Williams left Memphis for UCF following an April 2023 arrest in which he faced nine felonies and a lengthy prison sentence after he was charged for allegedly firing a gun at a car full of people who had arrived at his home. The charges were reduced, and he pleaded guilty in November 2023 to a single felony count of making criminal threats with provisions that would allow him to avoid jail time.

He was sentenced to a year of summary probation in August and his felony charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, clearing the way for him to make his collegiate debut with the Knights last season.

Williams never played a game for Memphis, as he was away from the team while the legal process played out.

Williams, a 6-foot-3 guard with 3.3 million Instagram followers, was considered a five-star prospect early in his high school career, when he garnered national attention -- and praise from some of the NBA's top stars, including LeBron James -- for his dunking exploits and YouTube mixtapes.

Sacramento State is slated to open a new basketball facility on campus this fall. University president Luke Wood, an alum and the youngest president ever appointed in the California State University system, has been aggressive in his approach with the athletic programs, and the additions of Williams, O'Neal and Bibby showcase that.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/44923348/ex-hs-phenom-mikey-williams-leaves-ucf-sacramento-state

Carson Conklin, Sac's outstanding QB, has transferred to Fresno State. It's apparent that Marion could care less about working with any of the players from last season's roster. He's committed to getting the best FBS transfers he can find even if that means letting go of some really good players who were already on the roster. Players have been leaving in droves lately.

Here is a very thorough scouting report on Marcus Wilson:

https://www.cougcenter.com/2023/7/6/23786393/washington-state-mens-basketball-recruit-marcus-wilson-2024

Bibby signed Shaquille O'Neal's son, Shaquir O'Neal, recently and is now looking at former NBA player, Nate Robinson's son, Ny'ale Robinson: